


Cheerful Thinking

by SonriaCat



Series: Tales from Winter Camp [23]
Category: Earth 2 (TV 1994)
Genre: 100 situations, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-03-16 23:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13646508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonriaCat/pseuds/SonriaCat
Summary: Friendships can start over the most mundane of things, even laundry duty.





	Cheerful Thinking

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Bleach

Bess sighed as she took the sheet out of the wringer and headed toward the clothes line. Despite repeated cleanings, it was still a watery gray color. If she’d been back on the Stations — or even on Earth — she’d have washed it with bleach, but they didn’t have anything like that here.

_Stop grouching_ , she told herself. _The sheet isn’t torn, so it’ll still work just fine. That’s what really matters._

Still, she couldn’t quite hide the grimace as she pinned it up to dry. This wasn’t the first white item that had gone dingy as a result of heavier-than-intended use here on G889. It wasn’t just linens and clothes, either; the metal surfaces on the Dune-Rail were becoming more and more pitted, and even the tents were starting to show signs of wear.

This dismal environment sometimes reminded her of Earth a little too much.

Morgan had often teased her about the fanatical cleanliness she’d maintained in their flat on the Stations, but it had always been indulgent teasing. She’d never explained that she’d gotten so adamant because their flat _could_ be completely cleaned, unlike many of the places on Earth. Or G889.

Finishing with the sheet, she went back to the rinsing buckets for another item to wring out. Her hands were raw and sore, but that wasn’t anything she hadn’t encountered before, either. She’d just never thought she would have to go through it again.

_Oh, enough with the negative thinking_ , she told herself. _You’re only going to get yourself into a state._

“You look exhausted.”

The urge to summon up a smile was automatic, and she didn’t fight it; the distraction was welcome, even if she didn’t know Eben very well. “It’s not so awful.”

“Then why are you frowning?”

“I’m just tired.”

“Exactly.” Eben gently pushed Bess away from the wringer handle. “Let me do that for a while.”

“Oh, no, it’s all right and it can get messed up if you feed the cloth wrong —”

“I know how to do it,” she replied, and she demonstrated by pulling a towel out of the water and drawing it out flat before feeding an edge into the wringer. Bess blinked, surprised. On the Stations, water was too expensive to be used for laundry; most people used ultrasonics.

Eben noticed the look, and a small smile appeared on her face. “It’s not my first time, either.”

“But I thought you were from the Quads. How would you know —”

“Most people think I’m from the Quads. It’s better that way.”

Understanding dawned. “What part of Earth are you from?”

“The Himalayan district, though my family was originally from Bangladesh, back before the floods.” She paused, cranking backward for a moment to make an adjustment. “We emigrated when I was sixteen. A little younger than you were, but it was actually about a year after you married Morgan.”

“Yeah,” said Bess. “I was nineteen.” Doing the math, she realized Eben likely wasn’t much older than that now.

“I know. There was a media sensation when he married you. It gave a lot of the girls some hope, until they realized that they weren’t suited for being a bureaucrat’s trophy wife and…” she trailed off, embarrassed. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” said Bess. “I’ve heard it before.”

“It doesn’t mean it’s all right. And you know, it’s not even correct. Not here, anyway.” She indicated the wringer. “It’s actually coming in handy, isn’t it? Being from Earth, I mean.”

“I’m surprised you’re still keeping it secret.”

“When we get back there, I won’t have someone like Morgan to protect me from the gossip.”

“Maybe things will have changed, or they’ll change when people learn about G889. You never know.”

Eben chuckled. “We both know how likely that is.”

“Think positive. We might end up as celebrities. And in the meantime,” continued Bess, “I really appreciate you doing this.”

Finishing with the towel, Eben folded it on the table and pulled another one out of the bucket. “I’ll go pin these up in a second. You looked like the wringing was starting to get to you.”

Bess’ lips quirked. “I didn’t realize it was so obvious. I was actually thinking about how the sheet had gotten dingy.”

“Hmm,” mused Eben. “I could always ask Maz if he has something you can use as bleach.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“If it’ll make you smile, then it’s enough.” She slid her eyes up. “You’re always so pleasant and friendly, looking on the bright side. You don’t have to do that, you know, so people appreciate it. So if there’s something small I can do in return, I’m happy to.”

The smile on her face had deepened into a real one, instead of something politely pasted on. “Well, thanks. And I won’t let anyone else know about you, if you don’t want them to.”

Now, it was Eben who smiled, and Bess suspected they were about to become friends.


End file.
